This is a weblog related to community activities going on in Brighton, MA, one of the neighborhoods of Boston. Ours is a large and diverse community including many long-term residents, recent immigrants, and students attending the local universities.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Interview With Council Candidate Tim Schofield: "Now is the time to fight this fight"

Brighton resident Tim Schofield has announced his candidacy for the open Allston-Brighton seat on the Boston City Council. I caught up with him after the "human flag" event that was part of the Brighton-Allston Bicentennial celebration.

He grew up in a more rural environment in southern New Hampshire, and spent several years in the military during the Gulf War, but was attracted to Allston-Brighton because he "was looking for a balance of urban and community: Allston-Brighton had the reputation of being that kind of place." He added that A-B is "a community [where] you can live in an urban environment yet still have a small-town feel."

He wants to be a City Councilor because he thinks he "can make a difference in making this neighborhood a great place to live."

The major issues confronting the A-B neighborhood are "the foundational, or quality-of-life, issues: affordable housing, so people can stay here; good public schools; and public safety, where we have a different kind of battle [compared to other Boston neighborhoods], like density issues, students, and the 'broken windows' effect."

He has sat on the BRA's Boston College Task Force since March 2007, giving him a first-hand experience on the relationship between institution and community: "Institutional expansion goes hand-in-hand with these issues. [It is] the most important, specific issue facing the community right now."

He concluded, "The next few years are going to define the next 100 years for our community. Now is the time to fight this fight."

Council Race Continues to Heat Up

Watch this blog for more information on the fast-changing events surrounding the race for the open City Council seat. Word on the street is that there are at least three or four more people entering the race -- on top of the five candidates who have declared to date. But there are also a few people who stated no plan to run. I'm working on getting short interviews with all the candidates as they declare, and will post those interviews here; also see the previous interview with Alex Selvig.